Former Republican lieutenant governor of Georgia says he’s voting for Biden

A lifetime member of the Republican party and former lieutenant governor of Georgia has revealed he will be voting for Joe Biden this November after heavily criticizing presumed rival Donald Trump and warning of the threat he poses to the presidency.

Geoff Duncan announced on Monday that he will be voting for Mr Biden despite being critical of the Democrat for years.

Mr Duncan was lieutenant governor of Georgia between 2019 and 2023, during the period when Mr Trump allegedly tried to overturn his defeat in the 2020 election in the state. Mr Trump is facing 10 charges related to election interference in Georgia.

In a piece for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, titled “Why I’m voting for Biden and other Republicans should, too”, Mr Duncan said that the “mentality” of Republicans falling in line behind Donald Trump is “dead wrong.”

“Yes, elections are a binary choice. Yes, serious questions linger about President Biden’s ability to serve until the age of 86. His progressive policies aren’t to conservatives’ liking,” he wrote.

“But the GOP will never rebuild until we move on from the Trump era, leaving conservative (but not angry) Republicans like me no choice but to pull the lever for Biden.”

Mr Duncan laid out his grievances with Mr Trump, both as a person and a political player, from his ongoing hush money criminal trial in New York to the events surrounding Jan 6 and how he handled the pandemic.

While he admits he does not agree with every part of the Biden administration and acknowledges what he believes were some of Mr Trump’s accomplishments as president, Mr Duncan said he would not be voting for the former president.

“Unlike Trump, I’ve belonged to the GOP my entire life,” he wrote. “This November, I am voting for a decent person I disagree with on policy over a criminal defendant without a moral compass.”

Mr Duncan added that the “healing” of the Republican party could not begin with Mr Trump winning the White House, adding that there would be “untold damage” to the United States.

The former lawmaker ultimately declared he would “pull the lever for Biden” but will work to elect GOP congressional majorities to block his second-term legislative agenda.

Mr Duncan has been a vocal critic of Mr Trump. He previously said that Nikki Haley was the best hope to preventing Mr Trump’s nomination or Mr Biden’s second term. Ms Haley dropped out after Mr Trump swept the primaries and caucuses earlier this year.